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Author
Topic: General Health Questions? (Read 2751 times)

Seems like it has been a rough year all-round. I just have some general health questions for some of the seasoned members on here, maybe some of you have heard of/have experience with these horrible symptoms I am dealing with of late? To start, as far as HIV goes, I am doing well currently on that front...Undetectable and all that, which I am grateful for. Here is my current problem...About a year and a half ago I noticed some pressure/discomfort which seemed to come from my anal area, like rather deep..I knew I had a lump, but attributed it to hemmroid. I had some rectal bleeding, that stopped after about 4 days as quickly as it started. Recently, I had a colonoscopy at the advice of my doctor..It said I have a less than 1 cm mass or anal nodule (which is quite small)..It said I have no hemmroids..They want me to have it removed, which I plan on doing. The doc says it is probably nothing and just needs to come out, which I am hoping for! Not sure if a small 1cm nodule could cause the sensation I had before, but anyway...MY HIV doc says she thinks the nodule might be attributed to HPV, which HIV people can get..Possibly it came before I started treatment and got my viral load down...Just speculation I guess??

Now for my more pressing issue, I have been dealing with (rather suddenly as of October) some extreme urination urges, like feeling like I have to go every few minutes, all day, and even a few minutes after going...Nighttime has become very unbearable...The urologist said he thought it was overactive bladder maybe, because urine cultures/analysis came back negative..He said he didn't think a small anal nodule would cause urinary frequency...He said it would take a huge mass to affect the bladder/urination....I just wonder what is causing my urinary symptoms...I wanted to aviod meds for it, if I could, because I seem to be young to have bladder issues....Anyway, just wondering if anyone has heard of issues such as these and how to manage them, etc? Thanks alot, and here's to a better and healthier 2012 hopefully!

This is a frequent topic here and many of us have had issues with HPV, roids, and polyps. I too had the bleeding and joked that I understood what women went through once a month. The pressure was intense sometimes. Since having it all removed this Spring, I've not had another episode. I waited until mine were rather large which led to a worse recovery. It's much less invasive if done early....I learned the hard way.

I've also dealt with the frequent urination, or feeling of need to urinate, for quite a while. I've had every test performed and nothing was found. I get up several times a night and even feel the need immediately sometimes right after getting back into bed. I added green tea to my diet and I think it helps a little, or I've convinced myself it does. I'll definitely be following the forthcoming answers as I might garner a little insight.

Best wishes.Wolfie

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First, I'm by no means a forum expert. Have you been diagnosed with having a fissure? I have one that keeps breaking open, tries to heal, and breaks open again. Sometimes, the toilet paper is full of blood. I was going to the colorectal doc about a growth on the outside of the anus. I thought it may be a wart. Before going to the doc, I was inspecting the inside of my anus with my finger and felt a lump, which scared me a little. Anyway, colorectal doc said wart was actually a skin tag and the lump was scar tissue from the fissure trying to heal and breaking open. Actually, I think he used the word, "nodule," and that's why it caught my attention. Something else that got my attention was the pain you described. I often experience aching pain down there--sometimes shoots up. This isn't a stinging pain that I would think would be due to the fissure. Doc said sphincter can cause this and happens to many folks. He told me to come back, if it gets really bad. I haven't had a colonoscopy, so I may go ahead and do that.

Let us know about any changes and if you decide to have it removed. If you feel something isn't right, it is good you're having it all checked out. I would assume your docs would know whether a nodule was from a healing fissure or something else. I was just putting that out there for consideration.

I'm not sure what causes this, but it's driving me nuts! Like my bladder has a constant feeling of pressure/urgency even after 5 hours after drinking anything..Like I will go and then 5-10 minutes later I need to go again and it's keepng me awake at night. It's awful. And it comes so suddenly..I had it a few days 2 months ago but now this week it's suddenly back again...To clarify, I don't have any burning or pain when urinating, or inability to hold my urine, just an urgent constant need to go..The frustrating thing is that I just saw a urologist last week and a couple days later the symptoms reappeared after I thought I was out of the woods..As to the anal nodule, I don't have any bleeding now, just a sensation of something in there...But again, the urologist said unlikely that something that small size could affect urination..I just don't know what to do, the urologist did prescribe be a medication for symptoms but I'm not sure what the root cause is...All urinealysis/culture were neg..so maybe prostate..the colonoscopy findings said nothing about a fissure..just the nodule that needs to come out which I will do...I just hope these symptoms go away I hate feeling like I have to pee contantly it's exhausting

Newbie, what you're describing sounds exactly like what I experience when I have a bladder infection. No sting or pain when having a pee, but the constant, uncomfortable and sometimes downright painful (in an achy, crampy kinda way) need to pee. I'm not sure if it's any different for men but I wouldn't think so.

One thing you can try that might help but certainly won't hurt is cranberry juice. If you buy the juice, make sure it is 100% (or close to it) juice, not cranberry "drink". Juices that are marketed as "drink" don't have very much actual juice in them and for this to work, you need juice.

If you don't like cranberry juice, you can get cranberry tablets instead and they're very cheap. Using both the juice and the tablets is even better.

It really does work. If I have a bladder infection coming on and I catch it quick enough (with cranberry), I can usually go without having to take antibiotics. Even if you don't catch it all that quickly, the cranberry goes a long way to easing the symptoms.

Try it and let me know if it helps. Like I said, it won't hurt and it's cheap to buy (particularly if you buy the tablets).

You should be drinking plenty of water (not soda, not coffee, not other soft drinks - WATER) while something like this is going on. PLENTY OF WATER!!! I know it sounds counterintuitive, but you need to keep the plumbing flushed out and water is the thing for it. And at least you'll have a bit more output to show for all those trips to the potty.

PS - you can buy cranberry tablets at health food shops and most drug stores will carry them too. At the drug store, you may have to look in the women's section because women are much more prone to bladder infections than men. Also look in the vitamin and supplement section.

One of the big chain drug stores in the UK (Boots) carry sachets of cranberry and pro-biotics that you can either directly pour into your mouth or mix in a glass of water. These work great too, although you should only take one a day because of the pro-biotics. They're also great as a daily preventative. You may be able to find a similar product in the US - again, look in the women's section if you don't see it elsewhere.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Frequent and urgent need to urinate (especially during the night) is a symptom of an enlarged prostate and is very common in men as they age. I'd be surprised if your urologist didn't explore that with you. Flomax and Uroxatrol are both very effective at relieving the urinary symptoms you describe. Flomax tends to give you retrograde ejaculation (when you orgasm there is very little, if any, semen) so if that is a concern, you might want to start with the Uroxatrol. Hope that helps

Although I like your cranberry juice idea, but since HPV was mentioned, does getting vaccinated for HPV help someone regardless of whether already infected with HPV?

The use of cranberry juice or tablets for bladder infections or bladder health in general (it can be used daily as a preventative) has nothing to do with HPV. Bladder infections are caused by bacteria; HPV is a family of viruses.

I'm not clear on all the ins and outs of the HPV vaccination. However, there are several threads in Living (and possibly OT) about it.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Frequent and urgent need to urinate (especially during the night) is a symptom of an enlarged prostate and is very common in men as they age. I'd be surprised if your urologist didn't explore that with you. Flomax and Uroxatrol are both very effective at relieving the urinary symptoms you describe. Flomax tends to give you retrograde ejaculation (when you orgasm there is very little, if any, semen) so if that is a concern, you might want to start with the Uroxatrol. Hope that helps

My urologist actually prescribed me some Ditropan, to take as needed. I have yet to take any of it, I have been holding off as long as I could...Is anyone familiar with ditropan, is it in the same class as uroxatrol/flomax that you mentioned? Would the ditropan help an enlarged/infected prostate?

The use of cranberry juice or tablets for bladder infections or bladder health in general (it can be used daily as a preventative) has nothing to do with HPV. Bladder infections are caused by bacteria; HPV is a family of viruses.

I'm not clear on all the ins and outs of the HPV vaccination. However, there are several threads in Living (and possibly OT) about it.

Ive heard about cranberry juice being good for UTIs, but they did a urinealysis/culture on me and said it looked normal...If I do in fact have prostatitis/infected bladder, would that have shown on the urine tests? Ive also heard that cranberry juice can actually aggravate bladder in some cases like if it is interstitial cystitis or something, your thoughts on this, or maybe taking a cranberry tablets? What about saw palmetto?

I don't believe Ditropin is in the same class of drug as Flomax/ Uroxatral. Ditropin is used to treat over active bladder.Uroxatral and Flomax are both drugs that are used to treat enlarged prostates in men. These drugs are very similar because they both belong to the alpha-blocker group of drugs.

Sounds like your urologist does not believe your symptoms are due to an enlarged prostate hence the Ditropin. If you aren't approaching 50, he's probably correct.

To your question on prostititus, it will not always show up on a culture. Sometimes urologists will treat for prostititus based on symptoms alone with a course (usually a month) of Cipro...ugh!!!... and ibuprofen.

Hope you get to the bottom of it. I know from experience it can be very frustrating but I'm 55 and it kind of goes along with ageing

Thanks for the replies thus far..As far as prostate, my general practicioner did a manual exam on me and said it felt ok to her..The urologist himself didn't do a prostate exam when I saw him...at the time my urinary symptoms were less so I didn't push him..Im wondering if it could be a recurrant bladder infection or maybe something as simple as a chronic overactive bladder (thhough this still seems odd to me at my age of 29)...Secondly, I'm still wondering about the anal nodule they found during my colonoscopy..they said it was around or less than 1cm, and the urologist said he doubted something that size would affect my bladder..he said it would have to be quite large for anything in the anus to affect urinary tract/cause symptoms...so I'm just sort of in a wait and see mode now, if my urinary frequency improves on it's own or subsides...

Ive heard about cranberry juice being good for UTIs, but they did a urinealysis/culture on me and said it looked normal...If I do in fact have prostatitis/infected bladder, would that have shown on the urine tests? Ive also heard that cranberry juice can actually aggravate bladder in some cases like if it is interstitial cystitis or something, your thoughts on this, or maybe taking a cranberry tablets? What about saw palmetto?

I've been using cranberry (both tablets and juice) for around 30 years and I've never heard of any contraindications. (meaning you shouldn't use it if you have x, y or z condition) What it does is it creates an environment in your bladder that makes it difficult for bacteria to hang onto the lining - so the bacteria are pissed out rather than sticking around, procreating and causing problems like inflammation. This is why cranberry is such a great preventative.

I've never heard of saw palmetto being used in a similar way, but that doesn't mean it can't be - I just don't know personally. You'd have to google it and make sure you only pay attention to reputable sites - meaning sites that aren't trying to sell you saw palmetto. If SP does work, I would imagine that cranberry is a cheaper alternative.

I've had UTIs that weren't picked up on tests until they were so bad I was literally writhing in pain. So it is possible that you have a low-grade infection that is flying under the radar.

Also, sometimes the best urine sample to test is one from first thing in the morning or after you haven't had a pee for several hours during the day. And if you drink a lot of water in the hour or two (or three) before you give the sample, you can dilute the urine so much that the bacteria doesn't show up like it would with a more concentrated sample. Does that make sense? I've only had one cup of coffee so far this year. (LOL)

I also don't know much about prostrate problems as I've never had to deal with it myself. (anyone remember the scene in My Girl where the little girl tells her father [or was it her mate?] she thinks she's got prostate cancer?) What I do know is this - what you describe sounds exactly like what I've gone through with UTI/bladder infections.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts